1. Meet the new boss: Today at 4 p.m., the Trail Blazers will introduce their new general manager, Neil Olshey, at a news conference at the Rose Garden. As The Oregonian's Jason Quick reported, Olshey had been set to sign a deal with the Clippers before the Blazers swooped in to sign him.

Needless to say, this is an important hire. As we noted last week, after the Blazers came out of the draft lottery with the Nos. 6 and 11 picks, they needed to make a hire quickly, ahead of the NBA pre-draft camp that starts Wednesday. Timing-wise, this was a positive step ... well, aside from taking more than a year to replace Rich Cho.

We'll get a better feel for Olshey later today. What's notable is what owner Paul Allen said in the Blazers' official release on the hiring. The last sentence in Allen's quote is the key one:

"He’s proven that he can quickly turn around a franchise, and we are confident he can do that in Portland."

Allen seems to be saying that he wants Olshey to build the Blazers around LaMarcus Aldridge, adding pieces to make them an immediate playoff team the way Olshey surrounded the Clippers' All-Star power forward, Blake Griffin, with enough talent to reach the second round of the playoffs this year.

Olshey added Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, Reggie Evans, Nick Young and Kenyon Martin to the Clippers, and all made key contributions in the team's banner 40-26 season.

Yes, there are plenty of doubters who point out that the Clippers getting Paul had more to do with with the NBA vetoing the Hornets' plans to trade him to the Lakers. But Olshey pounced once the veto happened, and as ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz writes in a very detailed profile, Olshey had to sell owner Donald Sterling on trading for Paul a second time after his first attempt did not work, and he had told the owner he was ready to move on and go young.

Olshey will have a lot to work with -- the two picks and good cap space, plus a head coach opening -- to put his imprint on the franchise. What an opportunity. Let's see what he can do, and if he can do it, as his new owner seems to want, quickly.2. Back in L.A.: The Clippers, meanwhile, are left scrambling with the draft and free agency approaching. The L.A. Times' Broderick Turner reports that president Andy Roeser, coach Vinny Del Negro and director of player personnel Gary Sack will take up the slack while the team looks for Olshey's replacement.

Among the possible candidates: former Blazer Kiki Vandeweghe, formerly GM of the Nuggets and Nets, who has been working as an analyst and sideline reporter for Prime Ticket's Clippers broadcasts, Turner reports.

The Clippers don't have the greatest reputation for taking care of their executives. CBSSports.com's Ken Berger reports that Olshey was one of the NBA's lowest paid executives, making $250,000 (he was also reportedly working on a month-to-month basis, with no long-term contract), and he will surely make much more with Portland.

3. The centers of attention: The hardest position to fill with an All-Star-caliber player in the NBA is center. There really aren't many true star centers in the league. Still, it's possible that the two best could be available in the next year.

We all know Orlando will push hard for Dwight Howard to sign an extension or consider trading him before his contract expires at the end of next season. The Magic have to hire a GM first, and CBS's Berger reports that former Hornets GM Jeff Bower is the favorite. Bower also interviewed for the Blazers job.

The Lakers are now in the same boat as Orlando, with a star center who will have an expiring contract unless they sign him to an extension. The L.A. Times' Mike Bresnahan reports that the Lakers have a decision to make as Bynum is probably their most tradeable asset.

Bynum had a interesting season -- raising his stock as a player, but also doing enough dingbat things to raise caution flags.

They might not be done. AP's source says Charlotte could interview one more candidate before finally paring the list down to some finalists. It's unclear if Charlotte's failure to get the No. 1 pick in last week's draft lottery had any effect on candidates' interest.

The Bobcats are one of three teams with a head coach opening, along with Orlando and Portland. It appears the Magic will fill their GM spot first.

As for Portland, team president Larry Miller said last night on "Courtside" that Olshey's initial focus will probably be on draft matters, especially with the Chicago camp looming. But Sheridanhoops.com's Chris Sheridan throws out a little nugget, which he garnered in a conversation with ESPN Radio700 out of Salt Lake City (that part of the interview starts about the 17:40 mark).

The hosts pass on the fact that Gordie Chiesa, a longtime friend and former assistant of Jerry Sloan, speculates that if Sloan does return to the NBA next season, it will be in Portland.

Don't forget a salt grain with that one.5. Happy anniversary: June 5 is quite a day in Blazers history, a day in which the franchise played a game in the NBA Finals three times.

In 1990, the Blazers opened the Finals in Detroit and lost 105-99. The other two games, however, went better for Portland.

In 1992, the Blazers, after losing Game 1 in Chicago to the Bulls, stole a road victory to even the series. The Blazers trailed by 10 and seemed doomed after Clyde Drexler fouled out with 4:36 left. But Portland closed with a 15-5 run to force overtime, and Danny Ainge scored six points in the final minute of OT as Portland won 115-104.